Coordinating video delivery with radio frequency conditions

ABSTRACT

System and methods for modifying streaming data based on radio frequency information is provided. As radio transceivers transition move to a shared resource or cloud model and the existing radio transceivers are split into a baseband unit and a remote radio head, radio frequency (RF) information including power levels, encoding, data rates, and bandwidth can be provided to video optimization server. The RF information can be provided more frequently to allow real-time modifications to streaming video data. Existing protocols are reactionary in nature and perceive changing channel conditions indirectly. By providing RF information from the baseband unit on a low latency channel, modifications to the video stream can be made before an impact would be noticed at the protocol level. Also, policy information can be used to influence the changes made to streaming data in addition to the RF information.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to mobile wireless networking, andspecifically to a system and method for providing video delivery basedon radio frequency conditions over a mobile wireless network.

BACKGROUND

Wireless networks are telecommunications networks that use radio wavesto carry information from one node in the network to one or morereceiving nodes in the network. Cellular telephony is characterized bythe use of radio cells that provide radio coverage for a geographicarea, with multiple cells arranged to provide contiguous radio coverageover a larger area. Wired communication can also be used in portions ofa wireless network, such as between cells or access points.

Wireless communication technologies are used in connection with manyapplications, including, for example, satellite communications systems,portable digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and mobile devices(e.g., cellular telephones, user equipment). Users of such applicationscan connect to a network (e.g., the Internet) as long as the user iswithin range of such a wireless communication technology. The range ofthe wireless communication technology can vary depending on thedeployment. These applications use media protocols to stream media suchas video and audio from media servers to client programs running onmobile devices. Example media protocols include adaptive bitrate (ABR)streaming, real time streaming protocol (RTSP), and real-time transportprotocol (RTP). These media protocols rely on video compression andcoding techniques that reduce the data rate of video signals, allowingthem to be sent over wireless links with constrained bandwidthcharacteristics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication network including a long termevolution (LTE) topology for media delivery enhancement in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 1A illustrates a communication network with cloud-based componentsin accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a logical view of a network device for media deliveryenhancement in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for media deliveryenhancement in accordance with some embodiments; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a network device configuration for media deliveryenhancement in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an architecture of a network device configuration formedia delivery enhancement in accordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Overview

In some embodiments, a method is disclosed that comprises receivingstreaming video data from a video server that is destined for a mobilenode at a video optimization server managing video compression of thevideo data, receiving radio frequency (RF) information from a basebandunit that receives RF information from a remote radio head regarding themobile node's wireless power level and encoding at the video server,modifying video compression of the streaming video data based on changesin the RF information at the video optimization server, wherein thevideo compression includes modifying a video codec rate to match aneffective channel data rate, and transmitting modified streaming videodata to the mobile node through the baseband unit and remote radio head.

Example Embodiments

Internet applications and services rely on a set of specific deliverymethods to communicate video and audio multimedia over a network. As oneexample of communications using delivery methods, a user visits a videostreaming web site using a mobile device. When the user chooses a videoto view, a client program running on the mobile device contacts a videoserver on the Internet to request a video stream. The video server mayrequest the video stream from a content server, or may request the videostream from an intermediate server. The video server ultimately streamsthe requested video to the client program on the mobile device usingmedia protocols. Media files are generally relatively large in size andare often not downloaded all at once. Accordingly, many web sites streammedia, so that users will not have to wait for a lengthy download tocomplete. However, even with the decreased data throughput required bystreaming, the bandwidth requirements of video often demand asignificant portion of the capacity of today's networks. For thisreason, a mobile network may rely on optimizing video traffic fordelivery to the mobile device by adaptively increasing and decreasingthe level of compression applied to the video traffic. This is done at avideo compression server in the mobile network.

However, in order to benefit from optimization of a video compressionserver in the network, the compression server is located closer tosource of the video and the video compression server operatesindependently of the mobile device's location or situation. Due to thevideo compression server's location in the network, it does not haveaccess to information that could be used to provide a better userexperience. Any modifications to a video stream through media protocolscan come after the video stream has already been impacted. The impactscan include changes in adaptive coding if bit error rates increase,packets can be randomly dropped when data rates change, andretransmission of dropped packets can increase latency or cause jitter.The result of these types of impacts is poor video/voice quality streamsof data. It can be difficult for the network to respond to these typesof impacts due to the mechanisms available for detecting andcommunicating issues. For example, if a mobile device was runningadaptive bitrate (ABR) protocol to receive video content the protocol,and a problem was detected, the video rate can be changed. However, thischange occurs after a problem has arisen and the changes may besub-optimal because the changes are occurring at the application layer,which may not be aware of lower level problems. As a result, the videocompression server can at best receive only partial information after aproblem has occurred.

In order to provide a better user experience and to allow enhancedperformance in the network, in certain embodiments Radio Frequency (RF)information can be used to determine how data is communicated in thenetwork. As mobile devices and cellular technologies evolve, the radiotransceiver can change to where the processing and resources areconcentrated at the edge of the network and the radio transceivers aremuch simpler. This can include a number of benefits such as reducedpower requirements and more efficient resource management. For example,the base stations can be virtual base stations that share resources withother virtual base stations. This can reduce network operators capitaland operating expenditures on the network, while providing betterservice for users. These benefits occur because the resources can beshared amongst many different radio transceivers and as such the totalamount of resources used can be less. When the base station processingand memory are moved to the edge of the network and concentrated, RFinformation is also more readily available to the network.

In some embodiments, compression of the video signal is facilitated byproviding detailed and current RF information about the physical layerconnection between the mobile device and the base station. This caninclude RF power information communicated between the mobile device oruser equipment (UE) and the based station to: (a) instruct the RFtransceiver to increase or decrease RF transmission power, (b) changedata rates of data transmitted, (c) step up or down traffic pathencoding. The bandwidth between the mobile device and the base stationis a function of the physical layer RF connection. By providing RFinformation including information regarding RF connection to the networkincluding the video optimization server, the video optimization serveris able to adjust to changes to the connection. This enable the videooptimization server to provide video that is less compressed and ofhigher quality when the radio link bandwidth increases, and morecompressed and of lower quality when the radio link bandwidth decreases.This correlates to whether a user is in a cell coverage area with strongsignal or with weak signal. In certain embodiments, this RF informationmay be made available to gateways, intermediary nodes, and other basestation subsystem elements in the network (e.g., policy charging andrules function (PCRF), Video Optimization, and others) in order tocorrespondingly adapt real-time traffic.

In certain embodiments, a video optimization server may perform videooptimization functions and dynamically adapt optimization algorithmsbased on a UE's RF conditions. By synchronizing video optimization withRF conditions, a mobile video experience can be improved. For example,based on RF information logic in the video optimization server canintelligently downgrade the codec and reduce the data rate when RFinformation indicates conditions are changing. Without thiscoordination, packets can be delayed or dropped randomly in order todeal with changes in the RF connection. This allows the mobile carrierto play a role in content delivery, such as adjusting compression andother settings in the delivery of streaming media. The RF informationcombined with algorithms in the network can increase the perceivedusefulness of the adaptive compression techniques implemented at thevideo compression server, as a user's perceived video quality will beimproved during both times when the user is in an area with strongsignal and times when the user is in an area with weak signal. Signalstrength and data rate may thus be aligned using the RF information. TheRF information can also allow the video compression server to be usedselectively, which reduces unnecessary load on the video compressionserver.

If the RF power information is available to the video compressionserver, then the compression may be dynamically turned on/off for agiven user session. When RF conditions are good, video compression maybe turned off. When RF conditions are poor, and traffic encoding isusing more redundancy, video compression may intelligently reduce thevideo codec rate to match the effective channel data rate. In this way,a variety of video compression techniques may be extended by thisdisclosure to include RF considerations. Details about RF conditions mayalso enable the video compression server to determine the magnitude ofthe codec rate change. As RF conditions vary rapidly and the UE isinstructed to change its encoding and power, the application/servicesmay also adapt intelligently to conform with the network reality.

Additionally, cloud radio access network (cloud RAN) solutions mayenable RF channel information to be obtained from a cloud channel andused for voice and video optimization. A cloud RAN is a radio accessnetwork where certain base stations functions are decoupled from the RFantenna. For example, the MAC PHY and antenna array functions of thenodeB/eNodeB can be separated into a Baseband Unit (BU), while theconversion of digital signals into analog radio signals, poweramplification, and radio signal transmission are separated into a RemoteRadio Head (RRH). The remote radio head can be connected to the basebandunit with a fiber-optic or high-bandwidth physical link, which allowsthe baseband unit to serve multiple remote radio heads. The basebandunit serves as the cloud baseband unit allowing for resources to beshared amongst multiple remote radio heads or RF transceivers. RFinformation including UE power information is received at the basebandunit at regular intervals and can be communicated to other networkdevices such as the gateways and video servers. In some embodiments, thelow latency between a baseband unit and the video compression serverenables rapid adaptation of video compression settings on the basis ofchanging RF conditions.

In some embodiments, RF information may include signal fading reportsand/or handoff reports. In mobile networks, a user equipment (UE) maysend out reports periodically, which are used for handoffs. Signalfading reports may also be sent by user equipment every millisecond.UMTS and CDMA also provide closed-loop power control, which involvesrapid signaling between the UE and the base station. These signalsprovide radio link layer information that can be used to enhance mediadelivery. When the signaling is low-latency, it allows video compressionto be optimized multiple times a second. Additional signals may be usedin certain embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a communication network that includes a mediadelivery enhancement mechanism in accordance with certain embodiments.FIG. 1 includes a number of radio access technologies such as a 1×RTTtransceiver 100, an evolved high-rate packet data (eHRPD) transceiver102, and an evolved Node B (eNodeB) transceiver 108, each of which canconnect to an access network 106. eNodeB 108 is an LTE network radionetwork component that connects to an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RadioAccess Network (E-UTRAN). Other radio access technologies such as WiFi,Femto, WiMAX, or any other radio spectrum technology can use transceiver112 to connect to the network using a broadband or other access network.Also network technologies based on CDMA, such as CDMA-2000, high ratepacket data (HRPD), and others can be used.

The radio access network may also be implemented by a Cloud RAN (C-RAN)108/110, which is a RAN that separates the baseband unit from the RFinterface. The baseband unit processing can be performed on a networkserver or other network device connected via fiber or a similarlow-latency, high-performance connection to the RF transceiver. The RANradio interface is called the Remote Radio Head (RRH). Remote radio head108 and baseband unit 110 are shown in FIG. 1. A Service OrchestrationProtocol (SOP) may be used to signal changing RF conditions on a peruser basis to a cloud controller. The cloud controller determines orallocates server resources where a particular user's video optimizationtakes place and forwards a orchestration command to start/stop/modifythe optimization operation. The cloud orchestrator creates a linkagebetween a cloud-based RAN and a cloud base station subsystem.

The access network 106 can communicate with an access gateway 116 thatimplements a combination of functionalities such as a packet dataserving node (PDSN), a HRPD serving gateway (HSGW), and a servinggateway (SGW). Access gateway 116 may also incorporate a cloud RANbaseband unit. Access gateway 116 may also be the location of the videocompression server, in some embodiments of the invention.

The access gateway 116 can communicate with an anchor gateway 118, whichcan implement a packet data network gateway (PGW) and a Home Agent (HA)and a mobility management entity (MME) 120. On the access network side,the anchor gateway 118 can also communicate with an evolved packet datagateway (ePDG) 122 which provides connectivity to the WiFi/Femto/othertransceiver 112. On the packet core side, the anchor gateway cancommunicate with the operator's IP service domain 124, the internet 126,and IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 128. An authentication, authorization,and accounting (AAA) server/home subscriber server (HSS) 130 cancommunicate with the access gateway 116, the anchor gateway 118, or bothto supply policies relating to billing, desired data rate policies,desired video compression policies, and/or other policies, as furtherdescribed below.

The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 130 can be a master user database thatsupports various IMS network entities that handle calls. The HSS 130stores subscription-related information (subscriber profiles), performsauthentication and authorization of the user, and can provideinformation about the subscriber's location and IP information. The AAAserver 130 can provide authentication, access control, and accounting tothe network. The authentication can involve verification of the mobilesubscriber, the access control can involve granting or denying access tospecific services, and the accounting that can take place is thetracking of the use of network resources by mobile subscribers. Otherservers, such as the Home Location Register (HLR) can be used in otherembodiments. In certain embodiments, the AAA/HSS 130 can communicatewith the access gateway 116 for charging purposes.

The LTE communication network includes a PDN gateway (PGW) 118, aserving gateway (SGW) 116, an E-UTRAN (evolved-UMTS terrestrial radioaccess network) 110, and a mobility management entity (MME) 120. Theevolved packet core (EPC) of an LTE communications network includes theMME 120, SGW 116 and PGW 118 components. In some embodiments, one ormore EPC components can be implemented on the same gateway or chassis asdescribed below.

The SGW sits in the user plane where it forwards and routes packets toand from the eNodeB and PGW. The SGW also serves as the local mobilityanchor for inter-eNodeB handover and mobility between 3GPP networks. TheSGW routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as themobility anchor for the user plane during inter-eNB handovers and as theanchor for mobility between LTE and other 3GPP technologies (terminatingS4 interface and relaying the traffic between 2G/3G systems and PGW).For idle state UEs, the SGW terminates the down link data path andtriggers paging when down link data arrives for the UE. The SGW managesand stores UE contexts, e.g. parameters of the IP bearer service andnetwork internal routing information. The SGW also performs replicationof the user traffic in case of lawful interception.

The PGW acts as the interface between the LTE network and other packetdata networks, such as the Internet or SIP-based IMS networks (fixed andmobile). The PGW serves as the anchor point for intra-3GPP networkmobility, as well as mobility between 3GPP and non-3GPP networks. ThePGW acts as the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), whichmanages Quality of Service (QoS), online/offline flow-based chargingdata generation, deep-packet inspection, and lawful intercept. The PGWprovides connectivity to the UE to external packet data networks bybeing the point of exit and entry of traffic for the UE. A UE may havesimultaneous connectivity with more than one PGW for accessing multiplepacket data networks. The PGW performs policy enforcement, packetfiltering for each user, charging support, lawful interception, andpacket screening. The PGW also provides an anchor for mobility between3GPP and non-3GPP technologies such as WiMAX and 3GPP2 standards (CDMA1× and EVDO).

The MME resides in the EPC control plane and manages session states,authentication, paging, mobility with 3GPP 2G/3G nodes, roaming, andother bearer management functions. The MME can be a standalone elementor integrated with other EPC elements, including the SGW, PGW, andRelease 8 Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN). The MME can also beintegrated with 2G/3G elements, such as the SGSN and GGSN. Thisintegration is the key to mobility and session management interworkingbetween 2G/3G and 4G mobile networks.

MME 120 is a control-node for the LTE access network. The MME isresponsible for UE tracking and paging procedures includingretransmissions. MME 120 handles the bearer activation/deactivationprocess and is also responsible for choosing the SGW for a UE at theinitial attach and at time of an intra-LTE handover. The MME alsoauthenticates the user by interacting with the HSS 130. The MME alsogenerates and allocates temporary identities to UEs and terminatesNon-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling. The MME checks the authorization ofthe UE to camp on the service provider's Public Land Mobile Network(PLMN) and enforces UE roaming restrictions. The MME is the terminationpoint in the network for ciphering/integrity protection for NASsignaling and handles the security key management. Lawful interceptionof signaling is also supported by the MME. The MME also provides thecontrol plane function for mobility between LTE and 2G/3G accessnetworks with the S3 interface terminating at the MME from the SGSN (notshown). The MME also terminates the S6a interface towards the home HSSfor roaming UEs.

The ePDG 122 is responsible for interworking between the EPC and fixednon-3GPP access technologies such as a WiFi, WiMAX, LTE metro, andfemtocell access networks. The ePDG 122 can use IPSec/IKEv2 to providesecure access to the EPC network. Optionally, the ePDG can use ProxyMobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) to interact with the PGW when the mobile subscriberis roaming in an untrusted non-3GPP system. The ePDG is involved intunnel authentication and authorization, transport level packet markingin the uplink, policy enforcement of Quality of Service (QoS) based oninformation received via Authorization, Authentication, Accounting (AAA)infrastructure, lawful interception, and other functions.

In some embodiments, the video compression server can be implemented ona gateway, such as access gateway/PDSN/HSGW/SGW 116. The gateway 116 canaccess and maintain mobile system information relating to the mobilecommunication session, the mobile subscriber, the radio bearers, and thesubscriber policies relating to the mobile communication session. Thegateway 116 may be used to provide various services to a mobile deviceand implement quality of service (QoS) on packet flows. Thecommunication networks also allow provisioning of applications such asstreaming video, streaming music, and other content delivered to amobile node. Residing within the gateway can be one or more networkprocessing units, line cards, as well as packet and voice processingcards. The below use cases can be implemented on various differentcombinations of gateways.

In some embodiments, multimedia data is adapted according to radio linklayer/PHY conditions before being sent to the user equipment over accessnetwork 106. Access gateway 116 may contain a video optimization serverthat can be used to adapt the multimedia stream. The access gateway 116is connected to a policy server, such as AAA server 130, which mayprovide subscriber information such maximum data rate of a video streamor for the user's other data connections and the pricing model of thesubscriber. RF information may be communicated over access network 106to access gateway and/or video compression server 116 using an out ofband protocol.

Radio link layer information may be integrated into a policy model atAAA server 130, and access network 106 and access gateway 116 transmitRF information to AAA server 130, in order to facilitate delivery ofcontent. In some embodiments, access gateway 116 and/or the videocompression server on access gateway 116 may act independently on RFinformation, or may act based on policies and instructions received fromAAA server 130. In other embodiments, a video compression server may beimplemented as a separate device or server, such as a separate unifiedcomputing server (UCS).

In some embodiments, access network 106 may be separated into a cloudRAN base unit (BU) 110 and remote radio head (RRH) 108. The BU may beco-located on the same device as access gateway and video compressionserver 116. In order to communicate radio link layer/PHY conditions, theunified device may use low-latency communications between the BU andvideo compression server 116.

Video compression server 116 may operate by having a default mode andone or more reduced-bandwidth modes, in some embodiments. In the defaultmode, video could be transmitted to a user device using the originalvideo compression parameters of the video. This mode is suitable forsituations when the bandwidth of the radio link exceeds the bandwidthrequirements of the video. In the reduced-bandwidth mode, the videocompression server may compress, recompress, or transcode video framesor other aspects of the video signal to reduce the bandwidthrequirements of the video. A desired data rate may be achieved byapplying a reduced bandwidth-mode of a specified level of compression,or by rapidly switching between the reduced-bandwidth mode and thedefault mode to achieve a desired average data rate. When thereduced-bandwidth mode is used using rapid switching, and radio linkinformation is incorporated into the video compression servercompression algorithm, the rapid switching may be enabled by alow-latency connection between the video compression server and theaccess network.

FIG. 1A illustrates a cloud based architecture in a communicationnetwork in accordance with certain embodiments. FIG. 1A includes userequipment 150, Non-cloud radio transceiver 152, remote radio head 154,baseband unit 156, mobility management entity 158, gateway 160, videoserver 162, HSS 164, PCRF 166, orchestration layer 168, and Internet126. As shown, the cloud radio access network (RAN) can be separatedinto multiple radio transceivers 154 and combined baseband unit 156 thatservices the multiple radio transceivers 154. The baseband unit 156resources can be virtually partitioned into configurable baseband unitsthat are allocated to each radio transceiver and in some embodiments canbe tracked on a per subscriber basis. Due to the configurable nature andservicing of multiple remote radio heads 154, the baseband unit 156provides a cloud based RAN.

Gateway 160 can also be implemented to provide multiple logical gatewayelements with the resources in a chassis being configurable to the needsof any one logical gateway element. In some embodiments, videooptimizations can be performed on gateway 160. Video server 162 providesvideo optimization outside of gateway 160. When user equipment 150requests multimedia content such as a video from a content server inInternet 126, gateway 160 can provide a connection from the userequipment to the content server. Gateway 160 can also send the streamingdata to the video optimization server 162 for processing. The videooptimization server 162 sends the processed streaming data back togateway 160 to send to user equipment 150. Because the baseband unit156, gateway 160, and video optimization server 162 are located in anorchestration layer 168 in some embodiments, RF information can beprovided gateway 160 and video optimization server 162 to adapt thestreaming data to the radio link conditions between the remote radiohead and the user equipment. In some embodiments, data stream processingcan be co-located with the baseband unit. This can allow nearlyreal-time adaptations to streams based on RF information in the RANcloud.

With the baseband unit 156 located on the core network side of thebackhaul link, and closer to the gateway 160 and video optimizationserver 162, these network devices can be implemented as shared resourcedevices in the network. When implemented as shared resource devices, acontroller is used to manage virtual implementations of these networkdevices. For example, in the baseband unit, separate virtual basebandunits can be used for each RF transceiver. However, each of theseseparate virtual baseband units includes a configurable amount ofresources in the shared baseband unit. Because the baseband is carvedinto configurable virtual baseband units, the resources can be used moreefficiently across multiple remote radio heads. This architecture alsopermits other network devices to deployed in a similar fashion where onephysical device is partitioned into multiple virtual devices formanagement purposes.

If multiple network devices are each implemented in such a fashion inthe network, then a service orchestration protocol (SOP) can be used tocoordinate and communicate between the virtual instances of thedifferent devices and between the network device resource blocks. Insome embodiments, the network device resource blocks are co-located orconnected with low latency links. The connectivity allows for moreinformation to be shared among the devices in the network and at speedsthat permit adaptations to occur as changes impact the ability todeliver data to a user equipment. It can also allow policy informationto be used in ways that were not possible before by allowing policyservers to understand what resources can be devoted to enforcingpolicies and what policies cannot be supported. For example, many timespolicy information dictates quality of service (QoS) for a particulardata stream or subscriber, but the resources are not available tosupport the requested QoS level so the QoS level is not provided. Theservice orchestration layer can allow for greater communication betweenthe policy server and the network as well as allow policy information todictate how various situations are handled as they are detected. Forexample, with the cloud-based baseband unit, radio link conditions canbe fed back to other devices in the network to adapt data according tothe condition information as well as the policy information.

The RF information including radio link conditions can be communicatedto other devices in the network using an out-of-band channel. Anout-of-band channel can be distinguished from an in-band channel that istypically used to deliver the data or content. In the case of 3GPP andother mobile networks, in-band channels may include the data plane ofthe mobile network. An out-of-band channel includes a channel that isnot used to deliver content. Instead, it may provide a communicationschannel between network devices that may provide control capability. Inthe case of 3GPP and other mobile networks, such channels may includethe control plane of the mobile network. The 3GPP model separates dataand control planes by using different interfaces for different types oftraffic. In this application, separation by interface is possible, butis not required. A variety of protocols for out-of-band channels may beused, such as eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), DOCSIS,Diameter, RTCP, and eXtensible Markup Language (XML). In someembodiments, the service orchestration protocol is provided in anout-of-band channel.

Content may be served via an in-band channel from a streaming server ormedia server using a standard protocol, such as hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), session initiation protocol (SIP), or RTSP. Content mayalso be served using an adaptive bitrate (ABR) protocol. An adaptivebitrate protocol provides different bit rates for content based on theavailable network bandwidth upon request. For example, a single videoobject may be provided at 128 kbps, 256 kbps, 512 kbps, 1 Mbps, andother bit rates. Adaptation can occur via signaling performed between amobile node and the content server. When a mobile node makes a requestfor a content object, such as a television program or feature-lengthmovie, the content server may respond with a list of chunks of therequested content, known as an index file, along with a list of each bitrate supported by a given chunk. There may also be a universal resourcelocator (URL) associated with each chunk/bitrate combination. The mobilenode may then respond by selecting a chunk and a bitrate to identify thespecific media file to be downloaded at that time. The mobile node mayselect a chunk by requesting the chunk directly from the URL containedin the Index file. The video server, in this instance, may be stateless.

FIG. 2 illustrates a logical view of a network device that implementsmedia delivery enhancement in accordance with certain embodiments. InFIG. 2, network device 200 includes a data interface 202, an interfacemanager 204, a video compression module 206, a video coprocessor 208, aradio link monitor 210, a radio link interface 212, a session 214, aprocess 216, a session cache 218, tasks 220, a processor 222, and memory224. The network device may be a gateway in the control plane of amobile network, a gateway in the data plane of a mobile network, orboth.

Data interface 202 may be used to transmit video data to a mobile devicefrom an upstream video server (not shown). Video compression module 206is in communication with the upstream video server, and performscompression and/or optimization of video prior to sending video to themobile device. Certain functions may be performed by a video coprocessor208 included in the video compression module. Video compression module206 is in communication with radio link monitor 210. The link betweenvideo compression module 206 and radio link monitor 210 may be alow-latency link. Radio link monitor 210 is in communication with aradio access network (not shown) via radio link interface 212. The radiolink interface can be an out-of-band signaling channel in someembodiments. In other embodiments, data interface 202 can include RFinformation from the radio access network. Processor 222 can be one ormore integrated circuits that are a multipurpose, programmable,clock-driven, register-based electronic device that accepts binary dataas input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory,and provides results as output. In some embodiments, processor 222 canbe constructed for a specific purpose to perform media deliveryenhancement or another specific task.

Memory 224 can be any type of computer readable medium such as randomaccess memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), flash memory, optical disk drive, ormagnetic storage medium. The memory 224 can be used to store computerprograms or logic that can be run on processor 222. The memory 224 canalso store information such as data structures and other data that isused for providing media delivery and for providing mobile systeminformation relevant to media delivery enhancement such as Quality ofService, wireless performance information, mobile performanceinformation, end-to-end system performance information, subscriberbehavior, subscriber profile, policy control, identity databases, andlocation systems. The memory 224 may also store radio link informationfrom radio link monitor 210.

The media delivery enhancement mechanism can be implemented as shown inFIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 300 for mediadelivery enhancement in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3includes the following steps: step 304 of receiving a request for media,step 306 of receiving radio link information from an eNodeB, a nodeB, aradio access network or other network, step 308 of determiningmodifications relevant to the media protocol fragment request based onmobile system information, and step 310 of adjusting the media protocolfragment request by adding the modifications to the media protocolfragment request.

In step 306, radio link information is received from a nodeB. Apersistent connection may be set up to receive continuous linkinformation from the nodeB. This allows the method to adapt the qualityof media continuously as the link information changes. In step 308,modifications may include turning off video transcoding or videooptimization or video compression. At step 310, the modifications areperformed. After modifications are performed, processing returns to step306. This cycle may occur many times a second, in accordance with thefrequency that information is received.

The user equipment described above can communicate with a plurality ofradio access networks using a plurality of access technologies and withwired communication networks. The user equipment can be a smart phoneoffering advanced capabilities such as word processing, web browsing,gaming, e-book capabilities, an operating system, and a full keyboard.The user equipment may run an operating system such as Symbian OS, iOS,RIM'S Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Linux, Palm WebOS, and Android. Thescreen may be a touch screen that can be used to input data to themobile device and the screen can be used instead of the full keyboard.The user equipment may have the capability to run applications orcommunicate with applications that are provided by servers in thecommunication network. The user equipment can receive updates and otherinformation from these applications on the network.

The user equipment also encompasses many other devices such astelevisions (TVs), video projectors, set-top boxes or set-top units,digital video recorders (DVR), computers, netbooks, laptops, and anyother audio/visual equipment that can communicate with a network. Theuser equipment can also keep global positioning coordinates, profileinformation, or other location information in its stack or memory. Theuser equipment can have a memory such as a computer readable medium,flash memory, a magnetic disk drive, an optical drive, a programmableread-only memory (PROM), and/or a read-only memory (ROM). The userequipment can be configured with one or more processors that processinstructions and run software that may be stored in memory. Theprocessor can also communicate with the memory and interfaces tocommunicate with other devices. The processor can be any applicableprocessor such as a system-on-a-chip that combines a CPU, an applicationprocessor, and flash memory. The interfaces can be implemented inhardware or software. The interfaces can be used to receive both dataand control information from the network as well as local sources, suchas a remote control to a television. The user equipment can also providea variety of user interfaces such as a keyboard, a touch screen, atrackball, a touch pad, and/or a mouse. The user equipment may alsoinclude speakers and a display device in some embodiments.

The method described above is implemented in a network device in someembodiments. This network device can implement multiple and differentintegrated functionalities. In some embodiments, one or more of thefollowing functionalities can be implemented on the network deviceincluding a security gateway (SeGW), an access gateway, a GatewayGeneral packet radio service Serving Node (GGSN), a serving GPRS supportnode (SGSN), a packet data inter-working function (PDIF), an accessservice network gateway (ASNGW), a User Plane Entity (UPE), an IPGateway, a session initiation protocol (SIP) server, a proxy-callsession control function (P-CSCF), and an interrogating-call sessioncontrol function (I-CSCF), a serving gateway (SGW), and a packet datanetwork gateway (PDN GW), a mobility management entity (MME), a mobilityaccess gateway (MAG), an HRPD serving gateway (HSGW), a local mobilityanchor (LMA), a packet data serving node (PDSN), a foreign agent (FA),and/or home agent (HA).

In certain embodiments, the functionalities are provided by acombination of hardware and software in the network device. Generalpurpose hardware can be configured in the network device to provide oneor more of these specialized functionalities. The gateway can alsosupport sessions originated from a Femto base station, which wouldconnect to the gateway using a broadband network. A person orcorporation may use a Femto base station in a home or business tosupport one or more mobile nodes. The gateway can provide trigger basedtraffic management during a handoff from a Femto base station to a macrobase station, while maintain traffic management for the mobile node. Themedia delivery enhancement gateway can be implemented as any combinationof the following including an xGSN, an xGW, an xGW-SGW, and an xGW-PGW.

In some embodiments the network device can be implemented using acollection of integrated circuit boards or cards. These cards includeinput/output interfaces for communication amongst each other, at leastone processor for executing instructions and running modules that arestored in memory, and memory for storing data. The features of a networkdevice that implements a gateway, in accordance with some embodiments,are further described below. FIG. 4 illustrates the implementation of anetwork device in accordance with some embodiments. The network device400 includes slots 402 for loading application cards and line cards. Amidplane can be used in the network device to provide intra-networkdevice communications, power connections, and transport paths betweenthe various installed cards. The midplane can include buses such as aswitch fabric 404, a control bus 406, a system management bus, aredundancy bus 408, and a time division multiplex (TDM) bus. The switchfabric 404 is an IP-based transport path for user data throughout thenetwork device implemented by establishing inter-card communicationsbetween application cards and line cards. The control bus 406interconnects the control and management processors within the networkdevice. The network device management bus provides management of systemfunctions such as supplying power, monitoring temperatures, boardstatus, data path errors, card resets, and other failover features. Theredundancy bus 408 provides transportation of user data and redundancylinks in the event of hardware failures. The TDM bus provides supportfor voice services on the system. In some embodiments, a redundancycrossbar card (RCC) can be used to make redundant connections betweenvarious cards in the network device. The RCC can include a crossbarswitch for making connections as needed between cards in the networkdevice and minimizes the wiring to connect any one card to any othercard.

The operating system software can be based on a Linux software kerneland run specific applications in the network device such as monitoringtasks and providing protocol stacks. The software allows network deviceresources to be allocated separately for control and data paths. Forexample, certain packet accelerator cards (PAC) and packet servicescards (PSC) can be dedicated to performing routing or security controlfunctions, while other packet accelerator cards/packet services cardsare dedicated to processing user session traffic. As networkrequirements change, hardware resources can be dynamically deployed tomeet the requirements in some embodiments. The system can be virtualizedto support multiple logical instances of services, such as technologyfunctions (e.g., a SeGW PGW, SGW, MME, HSGW, PDSN, ASNGW, PDIF, HA, orGGSN).

The network device's software can be divided into a series of tasks thatperform specific functions. These tasks communicate with each other asneeded to share control and data information throughout the networkdevice. A task is a software process that performs a specific functionrelated to system control or session processing. Three types of tasksoperate within the network device in some embodiments: critical tasks,controller tasks, and manager tasks. The critical tasks controlfunctions that relate to the network device's ability to process callssuch as network device initialization, error detection, and recoverytasks. The controller tasks mask the distributed nature of the softwarefrom the user and perform tasks such as monitor the state of subordinatemanager(s), provide for intra-manager communication within the samesubsystem, and enable inter-subsystem communication by communicatingwith controller(s) belonging to other subsystems. The manager tasks cancontrol system resources and maintain logical mappings between systemresources.

Individual tasks that run on processors in the application cards can bedivided into subsystems. A subsystem is a software element that eitherperforms a specific task or is a culmination of multiple other tasks. Asingle subsystem can include critical tasks, controller tasks, andmanager tasks. Some of the subsystems that can run on a network deviceinclude a system initiation task subsystem, a high availability tasksubsystem, a recovery control task subsystem, a shared configurationtask subsystem, a resource management subsystem, a virtual privatenetwork subsystem, a network processing unit subsystem, a card/slot/portsubsystem, and a session subsystem.

The system initiation task subsystem is responsible for starting a setof initial tasks at system startup and providing individual tasks asneeded. The high availability task subsystem works in conjunction withthe recovery control task subsystem to maintain the operational state ofthe network device by monitoring the various software and hardwarecomponents of the network device. Recovery control task subsystem isresponsible for executing a recovery action for failures that occur inthe network device and receives recovery actions from the highavailability task subsystem. Processing tasks are distributed intomultiple instances running in parallel so if an unrecoverable softwarefault occurs, the entire processing capabilities for that task are notlost. User session processes can be sub-grouped into collections ofsessions so that if a problem is encountered in one sub-group users inanother sub-group will not be affected by that problem.

The architecture also allows check-pointing of processes, which is amechanism to protect the system against any critical software processesthat may fail. The self-healing attributes of the software architectureprotects the system by anticipating failures and instantly spawningmirror processes locally or across card boundaries to continue theoperation with little or no disruption of service. This uniquearchitecture allows the system to perform at the highest level ofresiliency and protects the user's data sessions while ensuring completeaccounting data integrity.

Shared configuration task subsystem provides the network device with anability to set, retrieve, and receive notification of network deviceconfiguration parameter changes and is responsible for storingconfiguration data for the applications running within the networkdevice. A resource management subsystem is responsible for assigningresources (e.g., processor and memory capabilities) to tasks and formonitoring the task's use of the resources.

Virtual private network (VPN) subsystem manages the administrative andoperational aspects of VPN-related entities in the network device, whichinclude creating separate VPN contexts, starting IP services within aVPN context, managing IP pools and subscriber IP addresses, anddistributing the IP flow information within a VPN context. In someembodiments, within the network device, IP operations are done withinspecific VPN contexts. The network processing unit subsystem isresponsible for many of the functions listed above for the networkprocessing unit. The card/slot/port subsystem is responsible forcoordinating the events that occur relating to card activity such asdiscovery and configuration of ports on newly inserted cards anddetermining how line cards map to application cards.

The session subsystem is responsible for processing and monitoring amobile subscriber's data flows in some embodiments. Session processingtasks for mobile data communications include: S1/S5/S8 interfacetermination for LTE networks, A10/A11 interface termination for CDMAnetworks, GSM tunneling protocol (GTP) termination for GPRS and/or UMTSnetworks, asynchronous PPP processing, IPsec, packet filtering, packetscheduling, Diffsery codepoint marking, statistics gathering, IPforwarding, and AAA services, for example. Responsibility for each ofthese items can be distributed across subordinate tasks (calledmanagers) to provide for more efficient processing and greaterredundancy. A separate session controller task serves as an integratedcontrol node to regulate and monitor the managers and to communicatewith the other active subsystem. The session subsystem also managesspecialized user data processing such as payload transformation,filtering, statistics collection, policing, and scheduling.

In providing emulation, as MIPv4 is received from a mobile node, thesession subsystem can setup a MIPv4 termination and setup a PMIPv6session towards the core network. A session manager can track themapping of the sessions and processing to provide the emulation andinter-working between the networks. A database can also be used to mapinformation between the sessions, and store, for example, NAI, HoA, AEinformation in some embodiments.

The network device allows system resources to be allocated separatelyfor control and data paths. For example, certain PACs/PSCs could bededicated to performing routing or security control functions whileother PACs/PSCs are dedicated to processing user session traffic. Asnetwork requirements grow and call models change, hardware resources canbe added to accommodate processes, such as encryption, packet filtering,etc., that require more processing power. FIG. 5 illustrates a logicalview of the software architecture of a network device in accordance withcertain embodiments. As shown, the software and hardware can bedistributed within the network device and across different circuitboards, processors, and memory. FIG. 5 includes a primary switchprocessor card (SPC)/system management card (SMC) 500 a, a secondarySPC/SMC 500 b, PAC/PSC 502 a-502 d, a communication path 504, and asynchronization path 506. The SPC/SMC 500 include a memory 508, aprocessor 510, a boot configuration 512, high availability tasks 514,resource manager 516, switch fabric control 518, and controller tasks520.

The SPC/SMC 500 manage and control the network device including theother cards in the network device. The SPC/SMC 500 can be configured ina primary and secondary arrangement that provides redundancy andfailsafe protection. The modules or tasks running on the SPC/SMC 500 arerelated to network device wide control and management. The bootconfiguration task 512 includes information for starting up and testingthe network device. The network device can also be configured to startupin different configurations and providing different implementations.These can include which functionalities and services are capable ofrunning on the SPC/SMC 500. The high availability task 514 maintains theoperational state of the network device by monitoring the device andmanaging recovery efforts to avoid disruption of service. The resourcemanager tracks and assigns the available resources for sessions anddemands on the network device. This can include load balancing amongdifferent processors and tasks running on the network device. Processescan be distributed across the system to fit the needs of the networkmodel and specific process requirements. For example, most tasks can beconfigured to execute on SPC/SMC 500 or a PAC/PSC 502, while someprocessor intensive tasks can also be performed across multiplePACs/PSCs to utilize multiple CPU resources. Distribution of these tasksis invisible to the user. The switch fabric control 518 controls thecommunication paths in the network device. The controller tasks module520 can manage the tasks among the resources of the networks to provide,for example, VPN services, assign ports, and create, delete, and modifysessions for user equipment.

The PAC/PSC 502 are high-speed processing cards that are designed forpacket processing and the tasks involved with providing various networkfunctionalities on the network device. The PAC/PSC 502 include a memory524, a network processing unit (NPU) 526, a processor 528, a hardwareengine 530, an encryption component 532, a compression component 534,and a filter component 536. Hardware engines 530 can be deployed withthe card to support parallel distributed processing for compression,classification traffic scheduling, forwarding, packet filtering, andstatistics compilations. The components can provide specializeprocessing that can be done more efficiently than using a generalprocessor in some embodiments.

Each PAC/PSC 502 is capable of supporting multiple contexts. The PAC/PSC502 are also capable of running a variety of tasks or modules. PAC/PSC502 a provides routing managers 522 with each covering routing of adifferent domain. PAC/PSC 502 b provides a session manager 538 and anAAA manager 540. The session manager 538 manages one or more sessionsthat correspond to one or more user equipment. A session allows a userequipment to communicate with the network for voice calls and data. TheAAA manager 540 manages accounting, authentication, and authorizationwith an AAA server in the network. PAC/PSC 502 provides a deep packetinspection task 542 and a signaling demux 544. The deep packetinspection task 542 provides inspection of packet information beyondlayer 4 for use and analysis by the network device. The signaling demux544 can provide scalability of services in combination with othermodules. PAC/PSC 502 d provides redundancy through standby tasks 546.Standby tasks 546 store state information and other task information sothat the standby task can immediately replace an active task if a cardfails or if there is a scheduled event to remove a card.

In some embodiments, the software needed for implementing a process or adatabase includes a high level procedural or an object-orientatedlanguage such as C, C++, C#, Java, or Perl. The software may also beimplemented in assembly language if desired. Packet processingimplemented in a network device can include any processing determined bythe context. For example, packet processing may involve high-level datalink control (HDLC) framing, header compression, and/or encryption. Incertain embodiments, the software is stored on a storage medium ordevice such as read-only memory (ROM), programmable-read-only memory(PROM), electrically erasable programmable-read-only memory (EEPROM),flash memory, or a magnetic disk that is readable by a general orspecial purpose-processing unit to perform the processes described inthis document. The processors can include any microprocessor (single ormultiple core), system on chip (SoC), microcontroller, digital signalprocessor (DSP), graphics processing unit (GPU), or any other integratedcircuit capable of processing instructions such as an x86microprocessor.

Although the present disclosure has been described and illustrated inthe foregoing example embodiments, it is understood that the presentdisclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerouschanges in the details of implementation of the disclosure may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, which islimited only by the claims which follow. Other embodiments are withinthe following claims. For example, a video compression server may beimplemented using multiple video coprocessors.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, from a video server,streaming video data that is destined for a mobile node at a videooptimization server managing video compression of the streaming videodata; receiving, at the video optimization server, radio frequency (RF)information from a baseband unit that receives the RF information from aremote radio head, the RF information regarding the mobile node'swireless power level; modifying, by the video optimization server, videocompression of the streaming video data based on a change in the mobilenode's wireless power level detected based on the RF informationreceived at the video optimization server, wherein the video compressionmodification includes modifying a video codec rate to match an effectivechannel data rate of a radio link between the mobile node and the remoteradio head; transmitting the modified streaming video data to the mobilenode through the baseband unit and remote radio head; and, receivingpolicy information regarding the mobile node at the video optimizationserver and modifying the streaming video data based on the policyinformation and the RF information.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe remote radio head includes an RF antenna and circuitry fortransmitting the streaming video data over radio frequencies and thebaseband unit performs baseband processing.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the remote radio head and the baseband unit are both elements ofa cloud radio access network (cloud RAN), where the remote radio headprovides RF information to the baseband unit.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the video optimization server is implemented on a gateway andthe gateway performs video compression on the streaming video data. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving RF information in anout-of-band service orchestration protocol that is used to manageresources among devices in a network.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising communicating with a policy server an ability to enforcepolicies based on available resources and received RF information.
 7. Anetwork device comprising: an interface configured to receive, from avideo server, streaming video data that is destined for a mobile nodeand receive radio frequency (RF) information from a baseband unit thatreceives RF information from a remote radio head, the RF informationregarding the mobile node's wireless power level; and, a processorconfigured to receive the RF information and modify video compression ofthe streaming video data based on a change in the mobile node's wirelesspower level detected based on the RF information, wherein the videocompression modification includes modifying a video codec rate to matchan effective channel data rate of a radio link between the mobile nodeand the remote radio heat; wherein, policy information regarding themobile node at the video optimization server is received and thestreaming video data is modified based on the policy information and theRF information.
 8. The network device of claim 7, wherein the remoteradio head includes an RF antenna and circuitry for transmitting thestreaming video data over radio frequencies and the baseband unitperforms baseband processing.
 9. The network device of claim 7, whereinthe remote radio head and the baseband unit are both elements of a cloudradio access network (cloud RAN), where the remote radio head providesRF information to the baseband unit.
 10. The network device of claim 7,wherein at the video optimization server is implemented on a gateway andthe gateway performs video compression on the streaming video data. 11.The network device of claim 7, further comprising receiving RFinformation in an out-of-band service orchestration protocol that isused to manage resources among devices in a network.
 12. The networkdevice of claim 7, further comprising communicating with a policy serveran ability to enforce policies based on available resources and receivedRF information.
 13. A logic encoded on a non-transitory media that whenexecuted is configured to: receive, from a video server, streaming videodata that is destined for a mobile node at a video optimization servermanaging video compression of the streaming video data; receive radiofrequency (RF) information from a baseband unit that receives the RFinformation from a remote radio head, the RF information regarding themobile node's wireless power level; modify video compression of thestreaming video data based on a change in the mobile node's wirelesspower level detected based on the RF information received at the videooptimization server, wherein the video compression modification includesmodifying a video codec rate to match an effective channel data rate ofa radio link between the mobile node and the remote radio head; transmitthe modified streaming video data to the mobile node through thebaseband unit and remote radio head; and, receive policy informationregarding the mobile node at the video optimization server and modifythe streaming video data based on the policy information and the RFinformation.
 14. The logic of claim 13, wherein the remote radio headand the baseband unit are both elements of a cloud radio access network(cloud RAN), where the remote radio head provides RF information to thebaseband unit.
 15. The logic of claim 13, wherein at the videooptimization server is implemented on a gateway and the gateway performsvideo compression on the streaming video data.
 16. The logic of claim13, further comprising receiving RF information in an out-of-bandservice orchestration protocol that is used to manage resources amongdevices in a network.
 17. The logic of claim 13, further comprisingcommunicating with a policy server an ability to enforce policies basedon available resources and received RF information.
 18. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising turning off video compression of thestreaming video by the video optimization server in response to adetermination that the bandwidth of the radio link exceeds the bandwidthrequirements of the streaming video data.
 19. The method of claim 1,wherein the effective channel data rate is matched by rapidly switchingbetween compressing the streaming video data and not compressing thestreaming video data.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the RFinformation received at the video optimization server from the basebandunit that receives the RF information from the remote radio headcomprises the mobile node's encoding at the video server.